BLOG OF FINTAN COSTELLO - MOSTLY ABOUT WHERE DIGITAL MARKETING OVERLAPS WITH THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY.

Nov 1 The Ultimate Free Bet

I’ve been a massive fan of the SkyBet Super6 game for years. It’s a simple product extremely well executed and more importantly, from the outside it looks like it delivers. That’s why this season it has great to finally see the launch of free to play games from other operators such as PaddyPower, BetVictor and Colossus Bets.

Each company has put their own stamp on a free to play predictor game with a large prize. PaddyPower have launched “hotshot jackpot” a predict “8 anytime goal scorers” from 8 fixtures to win £250,000.

Colossus Bets offers in their “FreePlay6” pick 6 correct scores to win £500,000 and get a chance to win another £500,000 the following week. Staying on brand Colossus also offers you the option of fractional cash-outs depending on theperformance of your picks. This game is also available to the Colossus Bets b2b partners such as Betfair.

BetVictor on the back of the successful Euro2016 campaign, have launched “Golden Goal” for the regular season where players pick the first goal scorer and minute in a chosen game to win £125,000. They can earn extra picks the more they wager on site.

All three brands have launched a credible alternative to Super6, the key question is, will they be as successful as Super6? In my view, no, not even close.

While all three brands have focused on a free to play prediction game with a large jackpot, they have all managed to miss the key feature of mass media integration.

Super6 has a very tight integration with SkySports, not only does the game sit on the SkySports website, it has a large amount of dedicated airtime and is also fronted by SkySports pundits. This changes the nature and tone of the product from a gambling game on a bookie site to something much lighter and more accessible to a non-betting audience. To me this is a huge strategic advantage that SkyBet have with their game. This large reach then becomes key in the cross-sell from free to play to real money accounts, even low conversion rates can become very profitable.

So what could PaddyPower, Colossus Bets or BetVictor do to compete? Obvious answer is to knock down the door at BT Sport and agree to a long-term tie-up similar to what Super6 has with SkySports. Alternative solutions are to tie up with other media owners such as newspaper groups, sports news networks, fantasy football websites or large social affiliates such as LadBible(esque) or more gambling specific such Footy Accumulators. The right media partnerships could with time build up an audience similar in size to Super6.

To really exceed the success of Super6 performance the game mechanics and prize need to at the “DUH” level, this is where when a potential player learns how the game works they say “DUH” of course I have to play every week.

When we look at PaddyPower, making 8 selections “seems” worse than having to pick 6 correct scores, particularly given the prize is the same for both games.

Colossus offer a £1million prize, however in the small print it’s actually £500,000 with a chance to win an extra £500,000, while still better value than Super6, the misleading headline leaves a bad taste.

The BetVictor Golden Goal offers the simplest option of game play and I believe if they integrated with an InstaBet Style App and the right media partners they could really take this games places.

Despite what appears as negativity, I think it’s early days for operators and the product offering will improve over time. I’m also excited for the real winners here who are the punters who now have a raft of free weekly games that offer a life changing prize, the ultimate free bet!

Currently based in Amsterdam, but destined to live his life as a global nomad, this is the blog of Fintan Costello. From here you'll find the latest articles (eGaming Review and other publications) published by Fintan as well as speaking engagements and contact details.